E-BOOK

5 Tips to Turn Training

into Continuous Learning
on the Factory Floor
 Manufacturing is currently facing a number
of workforce challenges that threaten to
dampen an otherwise promising industry
outlook. The need for an increasingly skilled
and versatile workforce, a wave of retiring
workers, and a millennial labour pool that is
less than enthusiastic about manufacturing
jobs are leading some analysts to project a
2 million worker shortage by 20251.

2 1. Deloitte Skills Gap in US Manufacturing

Introduction

Effective training can help address all of these

workforce issues and more. Manufacturing
companies clearly see the value, as they spent
more on training in 2017 ($1,217 per learner)
than any other industry2.

The problem is, despite this investment, the

traditional approach to training has failed to
deliver expected returns. Training effectiveness $1,217
can and should be measured based on the key
spent per learner
performance metrics that matter most to you
on training by
- OEE, accident rate, waste, or time to create,
manufacturing
deliver and consume training content.
companies in 2017
In this article, we’ll outline how the old way of
training is falling short and how a shift in mindset
towards continuous learning, combined with the
right ‘factory-first’ technology can make all the
difference.

2. https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=448382#{«issue_id»:448382,»page»:70} 3
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Get out of the Training Room
Get out of the Training Room

Despite widespread recognition that classroom in real-time supports autonomous learning

based learning is not effective, it is still the norm and capitalizes on workers’ motivation to gain
in professional development. According to a knowledge when the need is greatest.
Training Industry Report3, 42% of training hours
But most training software available today was
in 2017 were delivered by an instructor in a
not designed with the realities of the factory
classroom setting. And unfortunately, that trend
worker in mind. Learning Management Systems
is on the rise.
(LMS’s), eLearning tools and content platforms
The challenge with this conventional approach were conceived for knowledge workers, not a
to training is that we know learning will be most skilled workforce.
effective the closer it occurs to the point of use.
By removing workers from the factory floor, you
immediately introduce the training knowledge
transfer challenge.

The alternative is to deliver training content on

the floor and in front of the equipment where the
information is going to be applied. Watching a
video, reading a guide, or referencing a diagram

3. https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=448382#{«issue_id»:448382,»page»:70} 5
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2
Make it Mobile
Make it Mobile
One of those factory floor realities is the fact that
mechanics and operators are on the go. Many do
not have desks, personal workstations or individual
corporate credentials. This makes it difficult to
deliver training and communicate critical updates
in an automated way.
Mobile tablets are the answer. Not only are they
portable, but native features offer new ways to
improve productivity. Imagine being able to scan
QR codes on equipment to access a knowledge
base of content specific to a machine or product.
Or giving workers the ability to easily create videos
of a procedure or take photos of a problem.
“ Producing a video guide using an
iPad takes us two times less than
the paper version.”
Plant Controller, Westrock
WestRock, a $14 billion paper and packaging
company deployed iPads to the factory floor in
2016 as part of a project to help standardize on
training content across its global plant operations.
According to one WestRock plant controller,
“The video support allows us to eliminate a lot
of confusion, loss of time and above all delays.
Producing a training guide now takes us two times
less than the paper version.”
Despite a growing trend towards the adoption of
mobile devices in manufacturing, questions and
concerns remain.
One main concern is the security
of those devices. For that reason,
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
is a recommended best practice
and enables remote wiping, location
tracking and locking of devices.
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3
Make it Continuous
Make it Continuous
The manufacturing world is
becoming increasingly complex
and the speed of change means
content is often obsolete before
the proverbial ink has even had a
chance to dry. Outdated training
manuals gathering dust on a shelf,
and inconsistent procedures are a
common problem. This happens
because of the effort and time
to transfer knowledge from the
machine experts on the front lines
to content producers.
But what if the operators, and quality technicians
themselves could easily translate insights gained
on the factory floor into a shared knowledge
base for continued learning across the company
at a glance.
When an unexpected interruption occurs on
a production line, every minute of downtime
means revenue lost.
With the right technology, once a solution
is found, and production is up and running,
the answer, complete with photos and video,
should be automatically made available in a
troubleshooting database to all production lines,
shifts and plants, avoiding the need to reinvent
the wheel the next time the same problem arises.
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4
Make it Shareable
Make it Shareable

The idea of a collaboration tool on the factory

floor understandably raises productivity concerns
for many. But when directed towards and used
with the goal of sharing knowledge and solving
problems, the benefits are impressive.

Imagine workers using a communication platform

could send out “calls for help” to the experts in
the company when faced with a problem they are
unable to resolve just from reading a guide. By
including photos and videos with a description
of the problem, issues can often be resolved
immediately and remotely.

With the same type of platform, a news feed

becomes an important way to communicate
updates on production line events between
shifts. When operators arrive on the factory floor
to begin their shift, a seamless handover of
knowledge will ensure productivity is maintained.

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5
Make it Micro… and visual
Make it Micro… and visual

Guides, work instructions, standard operating At dairy producer Riviera, they have centralized
procedures, one point lessons… whatever the their procedures and guides within a factory-wide
format, there is a lot of information to know and application and converted many to short-format
keep track of on a factory floor. Traditionally, videos. According to Riviera’s operations Support
and still today primarily, these critical learning Coordinator, “short videos mean employees can
tools are in written form. Often a physical copy watch at any time.” The result has been a more
stored in a binder on the production floor and a self-reliant workforce and faster problem solving.
digital version on the network. Not only are these
thick documents difficult to update, they don’t
do a good job communicating the information.
Long form written text is harder to consume,
“ Short videos mean employees
can watch at any time, for simple
reminders or execution of tasks.”
understand and retain. Operations Support Coordinator, Riviera

The answer is micro learning - any brief, targeted

Micro-learning is better for any learner, but it
training content (ideally a single topic) that
is essential for operators and mechanics, who
usually spans around 3-6 minutes. According to
rarely have extended periods of uninterrupted
a 2015 study out of the university of Germany,
work time. It supports on-the-job learning and
micro learning improves retention by 20%
empowers workers to consume content at
compared to traditional formats.4
their convenience and pace giving them more
autonomy in their development.

4. Source: Kapp et al. “Distributing Vs. Blocking Learning Questions In A Web-Based Learning Environment.” Journal of Educational Computing Research 51.4 (2015): 397-416. 13
 Reaping the Benefits
When these best
practises are followed,
improvements in key
performance indicators
are sure to follow.
Many digital leaders
in manufacturing have
taken this ‘factory-first’,
approach to learning
and are enjoying the
benefits.
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Productivity
A leading manufacturer of
high-quality chocolate and
cocoa products saw a 4%
increase in OEE on one
production line in less than
12 months.
Waste
In order to reduce waste,
a specialty dairy producer
implemented a standardized
way to create, update and
access procedures. Within
a few months, the company
had reduced waste on its
most important production
line by 9%.
Effective Onboarding
Finding skilled employees
for fabric manufacturing is
a huge challenge, but with
a mobile training platform
on the shop floor, a leading
textile manufacturer in North
America was able to reduce
the time to train new hires
by half.
Safety
A building material company
gave employees real-time
access to all safety procedures
and saw a 100% reduction
in recordable accidents year
over year.
Poka can Help
Poka is a factory-first training application designed
to address the challenges that manufacturers face
in their day-to-day operations. It’s different from
traditional training platforms because it enables
workers to easily create, share and watch content
related to equipment and workstations right on
the floor. Poka’s mission is to put the power to learn
in the hands of every factory worker.

With Poka, workers use tablets at each workstation

to search for troubleshooting solutions, complete
training, share important updates and even send out
calls for help in the event of downtime. The result
is a continuously updated knowledge base of best
practices and training guides, automatically shared
with the workers who need them.

Poka is trusted by digital manufacturers like Mars,

Danone, ArcelorMittal and many others, to improve
daily operations across hundreds of plants worldwide.

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 Learn more
www.poka.io/en/training